The Kansas City Royals, according to multiple reports, have reached agreements on a 2-year, $16 million contract with 34-year old right-hander Jason Hammel, who pitched for the Chicago Cubs last season. ESPN’s Jim Bowden, citing a source, broke the news on Sunday night.
In Chicago’s 2016 World Championship season, Hammel went 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 30 starts, but did not pitch in the postseason, nosed out for the starting spots by Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, and John Lackey. In July, Chicago acquired former Royals left-hander Mike Montgomery in a trade with Seattle, and with Hammel’s departure, there is hope on Chicago’s North Side that Montgomery takes Hammel’s spot in the Cubs starting rotation for the upcoming campaign.
Hammel won 33 games and lost 22 in two seasons with the Cubs. He was part of the 2014 trade with Oakland that brought starting shortstop Addison Russell to Chicago. After pitching for the A’s during the 2014 stretch drive, he resigned with the Cubs in December of that year for $20 million.
The Cubs declined Hammel’s $12 million option for 2017 earlier this off-season, making him a free agent. The deal with Kansas City will not be official until the veteran right-hander passes his physical. A mutual option for a third year on the contract does exist for both sides.
Kansas City, after making the World Series for two seasons (2014 and 2015), was hit by the combination of injuries and uneven play in 2016, ceding the AL Central title to the Cleveland Indians. The Royals hopes for 2017 had leaned heavily on improved numbers from right-hander Yordano Ventura, plans that tragically vanished when the 25-year old Dominican died in a car accident on January 22nd. Hammel’s signing is seen as a move to help the Royals eat up some of the innings lost in the Ventura tragedy.
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